Alarm bells are ringing as nearly 30% of Grade 12 learners reported active use of vaping in a groundbreaking study led by the University of Cape Town (UCT), from a pool of 25 000 pupils across 52 schools, published in The Lancet EClinicalMedicine.

Furthermore, 16.8% of high school learners have vaped in the past 30 days (study published on 29 November). It was found that 29.5% of matriculants make up the figure, with some reaching as high as 46% in some schools. This is juxtaposed against significantly lower reported rates of tobacco cigarette use (2%), cannabis use (5%) and hookah pipe use (3%).

The study’s innovative approach to measuring addiction revealed that between 40% and 60% of learners who vape are likely addicted to nicotine, with many reporting withdrawal symptoms, such as needing to vape immediately after waking.

“This rate of vaping is of particular concern among adolescents due to the highly addictive nature of nicotine. Nicotine use during adolescence can harm the developing brain, with potential long-term effects on learning, memory and attention. Alarmingly, it also increases the risk of progression to conventional cigarette smoking,” said Professor Richard van Zyl-Smit – a pulmonologist, UCT academic and leading expert in tobacco and vaping research at Groote Schuur Hospital.

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